LAHORE, March 26: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said on Monday that opposition’s strike had failed as the people did not become part of any conspiracy to impede the process of economic development of the country.
He said agitation by a handful of elements could be described an individual show and not a public protest, says a handout.
Pervaiz Elahi said people, especially traders, had distanced themselves from the strike call by the opposition. He said by refusing to become a tool of political parties, lawyers had proved that their noble profession could not be exploited by any political party.
He said situation remained normal and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in Punjab.
BASHARAT: Provincial law minister Basharat Raja thanked the people for reposing confidence in the socio-economic reforms of the government by rejecting the protest of the opposition.
In a press statement, the minister said lawyers had the right to protest over legal and constitutional issue but some political parties wanted to turn their agitation into a movement against the government but they failed.
Nazim: District nazim Mian Aamer said the opposition’s strike call was a failure as markets remained open and traffic on The Mall and other city streets was as usual.
In a press statement, he said the people had not only ignored the strike call, but also shown indifference to the politics of confrontation.
PML-N foreign coordinator Mohammad Mehdi refuted the nazim’s claim saying the ARD had not issued the call for a shutter-down strike, but only for a rally which it had successfully organised.
Mr Mehdi said the rally had been a completely peaceful affair, and this demonstrated that it were not the opposition political parties but the state machinery which was responsible for violence as was witnessed during a rally of lawyers on March 10.